Investigation of the effects of life-kinetic exercises on reaction time, cognitive flexibility and attention levels

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of life kinetic exercises on reaction time, cognitive flexibility and attention levels in table tennis players. In this context, the universe of the study consisted of table tennis players aged 10-13. BlazePod reaction device, Stroop test and Bourdon attention test were used to collect the data. After the collection of pre-test data, 8 weeks of life kinetic exercise was applied to the experimental group in addition to table tennis training. The control group continued only table tennis training. After the 8th week, both groups continued only table tennis training. After the completion of this process, delayed post-test measurements were completed in the 12th week in order to test the permanence of the application. The data obtained from all measurements were analyzed in SPSS (version 26) software. At this stage, in addition to descriptive statistics, paired simple t-test and repeated measures ANOVA were used to determine the differences between the groups from parametric tests. As a result of the study, no difference was detected between the pre-test values of the experimental and control groups. It was determined that there was a difference between the pre-test and post-test values in all parameters of the experimental group. As a result of the comparison of the post-test measurements of the research groups, significant results were obtained in favor of the experimental group. Finally, it was concluded that life kinetic exercises were effective on reaction time, cognitive flexibility and attention levels in table tennis players. Keywords: Table tennis, life kinetics, cognitive flexibility, attention.